Pickling machine



June, 4, 1929. L. LEE 1,716,068

PICKLING MACHINE Filed Jan. 15, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIEJ me/v70 Z 23 7M5ZmL2 -1Z/ ,atented alune i, W29.

aaee v LiEIF LEE, F YOUNGSTUWN, QHJZU.

momma Manama.

Application filed January 15, 1925. Serial No. 2,492.

- cheap to construct, remarkably economical to operate and more effective and efficient in operation than such mechanisms now in use and known to me.

Pickling machines as ordinarily constructed are provided with a central, vertical column or plunger having a spider secured to the upper end for supporting the pickling trays, in which the articles to be pickled are supported. The plunger is adapted to be reciprocated for the purpose of lowering the trays into the pickling vats, and for agitating the articles while they are submerged in the pickling solution. The tray supporting plungers of such machines areaccordingly so arranged with associated apparatus that they are capable of reciprocating through a wide range of travel, for the purpose of moving the trays into and out of pickling vats, and are also capable of reciprocating through a short range of travel for the purpose of agitating the trays while they are submerged in the pickling solution. Such 'plungers are ordinarily operated by fluid under pressure and it is usual to employ compressed air as the operating fluid. It is also the usual practice to so arrange the tray supporting plunger that it projects into, or through, a pressure chamber to which fluid under pressure is delivered for the purpose of raising the plunger, and it has heretofore been the practice to discharge the fluid from the chamber directly into the atmosphere for the purpose of lowering the plunger. In the usual form of ickling machine, provision is made for delivering compressed air to the pressure chamber and provision is also made for 'occasioning periodic pulsations of ressure within the pressure chamber by perlodically shutting off communication between the source of fluid pressure and the pressure chamber and at the same time venting the chamber to the atmosphere.

The operating expenses of such a machlne are relatively high, due to the fact that it 1s necessary to maintain an adequate supply of operating fluid at the desired pressure, and due also to the fact that operating fluid is continuallyexhausted while the plunger is reciprocating to agitate the trays in the pickling vats, with the result that a large part of the energy expended on the fluid in raising it to the operatin pressure is wasted.

'A further Ob ect of my invention is to provide an operating mechanism for reciprocatmg the plungers of pickling machines in which thls waste of energy, delivered to the pressure chamber in the form oi fluid pressure, will be eliminated.

In the drawings accompanying and formmg a part hereof, Figure 1 is a view of a plckhng machine showing the plunger and associated mechanism in elevation and two of the pickling vats in vertical section, and Fig. 2 is a view of the pressure chamber and associated valve in vertical section, diagrammatically showing the fluid pressure operating mec amsm associated therewith.

As illustrated the weight or tray supportmg plunger 3 of a pickling machine projects through a pressure chamber 4 which is formed within a casing 5. A piston head 6 is secured to the plunger for the purpose of reciprocating the latter by means of fluid pressure which is admitted to the pressure chamber beneath the piston head through a port 7'. The openings at the ends of the pressure chamber through which the plunger projects are, of course, sealed in any desired manner, such as by means of packings 8 and 9 provided at the upper and lower ends, respectively, of the pressure chamber.

A channel 10 leads from the combined inlet and outlet port 7 to a suitable three-way valve 11, the port 12 of which communicates directly with the channel 10. The valve 11 may be the usual form of a three-way valve employed in connection with fluid pressure operated ickling machines, and it is adapted to be automatically manipulated to deliever operating fluid to the pressure chamher from a sourceof fluid pressure; to shut off communication between the chamber and the source; and to discharge fluid from the chamber. As shown, the inlet port 13 of the valve communicates through piping 14 with a source of fluid pressure such as a tank 15. The exhaust port 16 of the valve 11 communicate's with a receptacle such as a tank 17 through piping. 1.8. Under such conditions, fluid under pressure from the tank 15 is dellWBIGd to the chamber 4 for the pur ose of increasing the operating pressure wit in the chamber so as to elevate the plunger. The partially expanded fluid is discharged from the chamber 4 to lower the plunger and is sure of the sprin 31.

17 I communicates with the intake port delivered to the receptacle or tank 17 instead of being vented to the atmosphere as has heretofore been customary.

In order to conserve a portion of the energy expended on the partially expanded fluid exhausted from the chamber 4, and to avoid the necessity of continuallv compressing air from atmospheric to the operating pressure, the tanks 15 and 17 are included within a. closed system which also includes a compressor 19 operating to withdraw air from the tank 17 and deliver it at an increased pressure to the tank 15, as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2.

The reciprocations of the plunger 3 for the purpose of raising and lowering pieklmg trays 20 in and out of the vats 21 is effected by manually operating the valve 11 through the medium of'a lever 22, as is well known in this particular art. When the plunger descends so as to submerge the article supporting trays in the pickling solutions the valve 11 is adapted to be automatically operated -to cause periodic pulsations of pressure within the pressure chamber so as to reciprocate the plunger through a short range of travel for the pur ose of agitating the trays while they are su merged. This automatic operation of the valve is obtained by means of lugs 23, secured to a rod 24 which is mounted on the plunger so as to reciprocate with it,.all as is well known in this particular art.

As diagrammatically illustrated, the tank of the compressor 19 through piping 25, and the outlet or delivery port of the compressor communicates with the tank 15 through suitable piping 26. lVith such an arrangement, the compressor may be operated so as to maintain a substantiallv uniform, predetermined pressure within the tank 15, with the result that the pressure in the pressure chamber 4 will never fall below the pressure within the tank or receptacle 17.

Anydesired pressure responsive control for the compressor may be used. The particular form illustrated consists of a cylinder 27 having a port 28 at one end which communicates with the tank 15 through piping 29. A piston 30 is pressed by a spring 31. toward the port 28 and the piston rod 32 is connected by suitable linkage with a rheostat or other form of motor control (not shown). It the pressure within the tank rises above the maximum desired the piston 30 is-forced by the pressure along the c linder against the pres- This movement is transferred to the motor controlling rheostat or other device by means of the linkage 33. The compressor is operated in accordance with the position of the piston 30 and this is in turn dependentupon the pressure in the tank 15.

By properlv controlling the operation of the compressor and proportioning the associated apparatus, the pressure in the tank 15 can be maintained at any desired pressure suflieient to lift the plunger and its supported weight at the desired speed taking into consideration the size of the piston and the friction of the parts; and the pressure in the tank 17 can be maintained just enough below the operating pressure to permit the plunger and its lead to move dmvnwardly at the desired speed, again considering the size of the piston and the friction of the parts.

For example, it may be assumed that 1U? pounds pressure witlun the chamber 1 will counterbalance the plunger 3 when it is subjeeted to its normal load. Under the assumed conditions the pressure in the tank 17 might be maintained at approximately 100 pounds and the compressor 19 would be operated as to withdraw partially expanded air from the receptacle or tank 17 and deliver it to the tank 15 at an increased pressure; for example, at a pressure of 200 pounds. Any suitable means may be provided for controlling the operation of .the compressor, either in re.- sponse to-variations of the pressure within the receptacle 17 01' the tank 15 or in response to pressure variations in both these tanks. For example, the compressor 19 can be controlled by an air responsive unloader which is a well-known form of compressor governor. Although this unloader may be responsive to pressure in either tank, I prefer that it being responsive to the pressure in the tank 15, which is the source of fluid pressure.

It will be apparent that by employing a closed system for the operating fluid, instead of exhausting the pressure in the chamber to the atmosphere, I conserve energy for the reason that it is unnecessary to raise all of the operating fluid employed from atmospheric to the operating pressure. After the closed system is filled with operating fluid at the desired pressure, the apparatus continues in operation with a material saving in energy over mechanisms heretofore employed for this purpose. For example, if, as assumed, the operation of the weight supporting plunger necessitates a supply of 100 cubic feet of air at a pressure of 200 pounds it will be necessary to expend approximately 22 H. P. in raising each 100 cubic feet of. air at atmospheric pressure to 200 pound pressure; whereas. if the receptacle or tank 17 is employed in a closed system with a compressor 19 and the tank 15, only about 5 H. P. need be expended in raising each 100 cubic feet of air from 100 pounds pressure to 200 pounds pressure. These approximate figures disclose the saving both in operation and in first cost of installing the apparatus, since it will be apparent that a material saving is obtained by reason of the reduced size of the compressor and the driving mechanism therefor.

Where the weight supporting plunger is so located that its pressure chamber may receive compressed air from a mill line, my invention may also be employed with a material saving in energy. Under such conditions, the recep-' tacle 17 ot the drawings would represent the mill line or the piping carrying air at the mill line pressure. The tank would, as before described, receive fluid discharged from the compressor 19 and the latter would operate to withdraw the partially compressed air from the mill line and deliver it to the tank 15. From the chamber 4 the air would, of course, be exhausted back to the mill line. The same saving in energy would be accomplished with such an apparatus, since the compressor 19 would deliver to the tank all the air necessary for the operation of the plunger 3 and would expend only suflicient energy on the air to raise it from the mill line pressure to the pressure of the tank 15. It will be understood that this invention has special utility in that type of pickling apparatus in which the piston and plunger work in a vertical cylinder, so that the load that has been raised by the introduction into the cylinder of the power fluid will be utilized. when the proper adjustment of the valve is made, to force the fluid under the piston into the fluid receptacle that is always in communication with the inlet of the compressor.

While I have illustrated and described what I now consider to be the preferred arrangement of my invention it will be ap parent that various changes, substitutlons,

modifications and omissions may be made in the apparatus illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth by the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In a pickling machine, a vertical cylinder, a plunger and piston working in said cylinder, the plunger having supported on its upper end a frame carrying the suspended pickling-trays, said cylinder being provided with a port entering the cylinder at a point below the piston. a valve-casing having a combined inlet and outlet connected to said port, a fluid compressor having its outlet connected I through a reservoir to an inlet formed in said valve-casing, a fluid-pressure receptacle and conduit connecting the inlet-of the compressor to an outlet of said valve-casing, and a valve in said valve casing adapted in one adjustment to putsaid inlet in the valve-casing in communication with the port in the cylinder and in another adjustment to put the outlet of said valve-casing in communication with said port, whereby when the latter adjustment of the valve is made the load on the plunger will be utilized to force the fluid that was used to raise the piston back throu h the valve into the receptacle connected to t e inlet of the compressor.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 12th day of January,

LEIF LEE. 

